Russian man fined for posting picture of Satan in first known case since ‘Satanist movement’ ban

A court in the city of Kurgan, in the Russian Urals, has fined a local man 1,000 rubles (€11) for posting an image of Satan online, state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported on Friday, citing the court’s press service.

The unnamed man was charged with “demonstrating the symbols of extremist organisations” for an image posted on popular Russian social media platform VK, according to regional news website Ura News.

This is the first known case of a fine being handed down since Russia’s Supreme Court recognised the non-existent “international movement of Satanism” as “extremist” at the end of July. That move came following over a year of discussions by top officials and prominent pro-Kremlin voices regarding the fight against Satanism in Russia, which began with a special State Duma session in July 2024, featuring deputies, priests, and several state media propagandists.

Satanism was declared extremist by Judge Oleg Nefedov, who previously applied the same designation to the non-existent “international LGBT movement” in November 2023 and oversaw the April decision to decriminalise the Taliban.

The decision means that, among other things, “the general principles of Satanism” and the performance of “occult rituals” will now be outlawed in Russia, according to the Prosecutor General’s office, which hailed the designation as a triumph for “legal forces” in the “eternal struggle between good and evil”.

In November 2023, Putin pardoned a member of a Satanist gang that killed four teenagers who was serving a 20-year prison sentence in recognition of his military service in Ukraine.